Author: taprobane@me.com

Tea At The Park

by Kiran Jayasinghe

Simran, Svara, and I had been asking our parents to take us to a tea room as part of Simran’s and my birthday present (from our parents, at least). After making a reservation a few weeks ago, we, as a family, went out to the Park Hyatt Aviara Resort  to have “High Tea at the Park” .  Reservations are needed to have tea at the Park Hyatt, and Mom said that the reservations get booked up very early. When we pulled up to the lobby I was definitely not expecting for the staff to open the car doors for us, or for them to open the hotel doors for us, but they did! I felt so special. We also had no idea where the tea room was in the resort, so we asked the ladies at the front desk. Turns out the high tea room was less than ten feet away! The tea room had four to five tables set up. We were seated at a table set up just for us (the benefits of making a reservation). At the time of the reservation, Mom  reserved the “Traditional Tea”.  There’s also a tea called “Royal Tea”, which is the same the “Traditional Tea” except that they also serve champain. The tea was served, and it came with an assortment of finger foods such as cucumber sandwiches, egg with caviar, smoked salmon with caviar, and more. It also came with scones and desserts.  There were a number of teas to choose from, but we chose a Chocolate and Orange peel tea that was recomended by the server and a more traditional English Breakfast tea. The server poured our tea for us. Each of us had our own small pot of tea and a strainer. Everything was absolutely delicious. My personal favorite was the cucumber sandwhiches. I had one of everything, just like Simran and Svara and my mom and dad. We all agreed the desserts were a little sweet, maybe too sweet, but it was dessert all the same, so I ate all of it. I also had several cups of tea of both the Chocolate with Orange Peel and the English Breakfast, with milk and sugar, of course.  My dad liked the Chocolate with Orange peel tea which remninded him of a Christmas tea, and I agree with him. When we were finished, the server, who was very kind, decided to give us a few extra scones and desserts to take home (yay, more!).

Overall, the food was great, the tea was a-MAZ-ing, and the service was also over the top. Our server said that the Tea at the Park is known as one of the best in San Diego, and after trying it out, I pretty sure that’s true.  We all enjoyed our experience at the Park Hyatt Aviara Resort Tea Room and I’m sure we’ll go again!

Oman/ Anthony Bourdain – Parts Unknown

By Kiran, Simran, and Svara Jayasinghe

In December of last year, we had watched an episode of ‘Anthony Bourdain — Parts Unknown’ and it took us to the country of Oman. Oman is located in the Middle East, in the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and the United Arab Emirates. It’s surrounded by the Gulf of Oman, Gulf of Aden, and the Arabian Sea.

Oman is a country that is partly well-developed, and partly not. In the 1970’s, Oman was a very under-developed country. It only had six miles of paved road! Then, Sultan Qaboos, rose to power. He managed to transform the country into a more modern place, while still keeping it’s traditions at heart. The Sultan earned the respect and admiration of his people.

The country sports the largest sand dune in the world. Clean sand draws several groups of Omani people to wander the dunes. On the show, Bourdain spent one night and day with people who roam the desert. They traveled on camels and set up tents in the night, played music, and overall just enjoyed their time. Oman also has beautiful beaches and shoreline, and many people have boats. Most people spend some time each day at the ocean.

As usual, had Bourdain showcased the food of the country. Oman’s food is a mix of their own and Indian food. They eat shuwa, which is pit-roasted goat. Shuwa is prepared by taking the meat of a goat, wrapping it in palm or banana leaves, burying it in the ground over hot coals, then taking it out again two days later. Shuwa is a special dish. There is also pakora, which is Indian fritters, and chapati, which is Indian fresh baked bread.

Oman is a modern, but traditional country. Bourdain himself said that Oman “defys expectations”. With beautiful scenery, shores, sand dunes, and the culture, it would be an interesting place to visit.

Playing Golf!

by Simran Jayasinghe

Before our trip to Palm Springs in August of 2017, I had never played golf. I had played mini golf, but I don’t think that counts as real golf! I had never learned the right way to play golf. That all changed when we were at vacation at the La Quinta Resort in Palm Springs. The resort had a golf club, and my sisters and I went for a golf lesson.

When we arrived at the golf club, we were impressed with the lay out and style of the club house. There was a nice seating area, with a view of the golf course, a bar for adults, a pro shop, and there were tables where you could order food.

Lining up the ball
Lining up the ball
Putting is not easy as it looks!
Putting is not easy as it looks!

My sisters and I started our lesson on the putting green. Our instructor first taught us how to properly hold the putter, and let us try to get the ball into the hole. Putting looks easy from far away, but it was challenging for us. After a lot of practice, my sisters and I finally got the hang of it! After about half an hour we went to the driving range, in golf carts. Our mom really loved driving around in the golf carts!

At the driving range, we tried hitting golf balls using several different clubs. Our instructor was very calm and patient with us, which, probably wasn’t easy, since it took us a while to hit the ball properly so that it traveled some distance. We learnt how to hold the different clubs properly, and how to keep the ball on the tee and use a driver, and other clubs, called “irons” to try and hit the ball as far as we could.  After our lesson was over, we were all exhausted, and our parents surprised us by getting us breakfast from the restaurant inside the golf club. Kiran and I had toast, eggs, bacon, and fresh fruit. Svara had toast, eggs, sausage, and cottage cheese. Also, all three of us shared a french toast.The meal was

scrumptious, and the view was beautiful from where we sat. All three of us enjoyed day of golfing.  I highly recommend trying out a golf lesson you ever find yourself at the La Quinta Resort!

Tinker Crate Review (December 2017)

by Svara Jayasinghe

This month in our Tinker Crate we found out that we were making paper circuits. I have never done anything like this before so I found it a little challenging. My dad helped me with some of the steps I had trouble with but I did several steps on my own.  Even when my dad helped he just helped me with the instructions and I actually did all the work!  The project was to make lanterns with different colored LED lights.  My dad said that LED stands for ‘Light Emitting Diode”.  I really don’t know what a diode is but I am sure I will learn about these later.  First I had to make the base that help the LED light in place.  We used copper tape to make the circuit and connect the LED to the battery.  We also had to use a resistor to make the LED light up.

The circuit was built using copper tape, two plastic rails, a resistor, two wires and a battery.
The circuit was built using copper tape, two plastic rails, a resistor, two wires and a battery.
The circuit with a blue LED touching the copper paper
The circuit with a blue LED touching the copper paper

After I made the base I made the lamp shades to complete the lanterns. The crate had material to make a flower, a pyramid, or a cylinder lantern.  I ended up making all three lanterns.  The crate also comes with different colored LED lights so that you can try out many different versions of the lantern.

Flower lantern with Red LED
Flower lantern with Red LED
Pyramid lantern with green LED
Pyramid lantern with green LED
Cylinder lantern with blue LED
Cylinder lantern with blue LED

This month’s Tinker Crate was kind of hard for me but I still enjoyed it, and I know my sisters did too. Before this I had never played with LED lights, or resistors, and making the lanterns gave me a chance to know how these worked.  I really enjoyed the project and I learned new things.

La Quinta Resort and Spa – A Review

by Simran Jayasinghe

On a Thursday morning, in August of 2017, our family piled into our car with all of our suitcases and bags. Every year, at the end of summer, our family takes a vacation, to just relax. My sisters and I were excited. We had packed a deck of cards, and were ready to be stuck in a car for three hours on the way to Palm Springs!

Our first stop was the Cabazon Outlets. There, we stretched our legs, and enjoyed Wetzel Pretzel’s in the relaxing shade of a tree. We also shopped for back to school items, like new sneakers, etc. After we were done shopping, we drove to our hotel, the La Quinta Resort & Club.

Fountain at the Entrance of the La Quinta Resort and Club
Fountain at the Entrance of the La Quinta Resort and Club

When we arrived at the resort, we found out that there were 41 pools throughout the resort! This got our attention, as pools are really important to us because our whole family loves the water. We checked in, and got to our hotel room. Our dad had booked a Spa Villa for us. The hotel room was delightful, especially because the A.C. was on, and it was really hot outside. The hotel room had a small kitchen, with a full size refrigerator, a countertop microwave, and a stove. The room had a master bedroom and a living space with a couch, a T.V. and a fireplace.

Master bedroom in the spa villa at the La Quinta Resort and Club
Master bedroom in the spa villa at the La Quinta Resort and Club
Living room at the La Quinta Resort and Club.
Living room at the La Quinta Resort and Club.
Full Kitchen at the Spa Villa at the La Quinta Resort and Club
Full Kitchen at the Spa Villa at the La Quinta Resort and Club

 

 

 

 

 

The pullout bed in the Spa Villa at the La Quinta Resort and Club
The pullout bed in the Spa Villa at the La Quinta Resort and Club
Master bathroom in the spa villa at the La Quinta Resort and Spa
Master bathroom in the spa villa at the La Quinta Resort and Spa

The couch was a pullout bed for my sisters and I, so that our parents got to sleep in the big bed in the master bedroom. There were two bathrooms, one off the master bedroom, and another in the living area. The room did have a sort of outdoor patio, but on the patio space right outside the kitchen, we did discover some rolled up dirty diapers! P.U! We notified the resort staff, and it was quickly taken care of.

It didn’t take long for us to get relaxed in the hotel room, and at about 7 p.m we went to the pool because it had cooled down a little. We were so happy because our room was right next to the pool! My sisters and I swam around and relaxed in the pool, taking turns splashing our dad, who just sat in the pool the whole time. Our parents went to find some food to have for dinner, and we ended up having Subway. Then, we all fell soundly asleep, to wake up the next morning in Palm Springs!

Relaxing at one of the 41 pools at the La Quinta Resort and Club
Relaxing at one of the 41 pools at the La Quinta Resort and Club

Our family stayed at the resort for five days, which let us experience many things. We to go relax at the pools, play tennis and golf, go to restaurants, and shop. Our family really liked this resort, and recommend it if you need a vacation in the beautiful desert city of Palm Springs!